Private music is a filthy and gritty, yet transcendental experience
After five years of silence, Deftones return with Private Music, an album that cranks up the volume, drops the tuning, and reminds us why they remain one of the most inventive bands in heavy music. It’s everything a Deftones fan could want: ethereal shoegaze soundscapes, pained screams that feel like they’ve been torn straight from Chino Moreno’s soul, and Stephen Carpenter’s bouncy, head-banging riffs that echo back to their 1995 debut Adrenaline. Yet, it’s also an album that continues to take strides forward.
The record opens with its lead single, ‘My Mind Is a Mountain’. Right from the first second, the song lands like a punch to the chest, all instruments firing at once without warning. It’s chaotic but purposeful, shaking you awake before dropping into the verse where Chino’s haunting vocals seep directly into your brain. Lyrically, the track reads like a metaphor for the peaks and valleys of mental health, touching on depression, anxiety, and the way self-doubt can creep back into your life no matter where you are. The recurring idea of having to “sail into the storm” acts as both a warning and a rallying cry, setting the tone for the emotional turbulence of the album.
By the time you reach Infinite Source, the fourth track, the band slows things down, if only slightly. It follows Locked Club, a punchy number that wouldn’t feel out of place on 2000’s White Pony, and Ecdysis, which builds tension with a palm-muted riff before breaking into a storm of aggression. Against those, Infinite Source feels almost meditative, an atmospheric breather that gives listeners a moment of reflection. It’s not a lull, though, the track still simmers with energy beneath the surface, like a volcano waiting to erupt.
That eruption arrives with Souvenir, which bursts back to life with a lush, spacey atmosphere. Chino’s declaration of “I’m hovering through space” couldn’t be more fitting. The track gradually builds and then plays out with a dreamy outro until it hands the reins to cXz, a pit-ready anthem that’s bound to ignite chaos at any live setting.
Halfway through the album comes one of its emotional peaks ‘I Think About You All the Time’. It’s the slowest and most vulnerable song on the record, brimming with heartfelt delivery and delicate instrumentation. The sequencing here is brilliant, producer Nick Raskulinecz ensures that just as the listener sinks into this moment of intimacy, Deftones yank the rug out with ‘Milk of the Madonna’. Thick guitars and thunderous bass drive the track, while Chino cuts through with razor-sharp vocals that beg to be screamed along with. It’s a perfect showcase of the band’s dynamic range, shifting from tenderness to fury without ever feeling jarring.
The album’s energy spikes again with two standout tracks ‘Cut Hands’ and ‘Metal Dream’. These feel like deliberate callbacks to the band’s nu-metal-adjacent roots. Chino channels his rap-rock delivery with surprising ferocity, while Carpenter unloads riff after riff that makes you want to dust off a pair of oversized JNCO jeans. For fans who grew up on the heavier, more aggressive side of Deftones, these songs feel like a gift, proof that the band can nod to their past while still sounding fresh. As a longtime nu-metal fan, I couldn’t help but grin the first time I heard them.
Then comes the closer, Departing the Body. It’s a hauntingly beautiful song, and in some ways, an unexpected one. There’s a heavy dose of atmosphere here, almost reminiscent of Puscifer, with Chino delivering a lower, subdued vocal before the inevitable explosion into noise and texture. It’s the kind of track that feels like an out-of-body experience, the perfect curtain call for an album that thrives on contrasts, brutality and beauty, heaviness and lightness, despair and hope.
Conclusion.
What makes Private Music so striking is that it proves, once again, Deftones are a band without borders. Few groups have survived as long as they have without either diluting their sound or rehashing the same formula. Instead, Deftones have consistently evolved while still sounding unmistakably like themselves. They don’t chase trends, they don’t make music to prove a point, and they certainly don’t need to compete with their peers. They make music because they love it, and they love to push the medium forward. This passion radiates through every second of Private Music.